


Ironstrange Fic Title Meme Responses

by babywarg (morphaileffect)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate History, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Comedy, Drama, Filipino, Fluff, Humor, Imaginings, M/M, Meta, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Romance, Tagalog, Tumblr Memes, Tumblr Prompt, philippines, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 02:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21263582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/babywarg
Summary: Once, in October 2019, I did this Tumblr meme: "Send me a made-up fic title and I’ll tell you what I would write to go with it."A number of gorgeous people sent me wonderful prompts. I've compiled my responses for the Ironstrange/Strangeiron pairing here.





	1. Happily Never After

**Author's Note:**

> The first ask is from i-love-you-3247 on Tumblr.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188374532434/for-the-made-up-title-meme-happily-never-after).

_There is no version of this where you come out on top._

When Tony said this to Loki, he didn’t realize he was also saying it to himself.

All the possible outcomes to the war with the Mad Titan parade before Tony’s fading eyes. He sees that he still doesn’t come out on top, in this life. He loses friends (loses Peter) for a long time, gets to live in a world grieving for its vanished half, gets to scrap for comfort in the arms of his lovely, loving family while guilt eats away at him every night.

He dies in all the futures he sees. Sometimes horribly. But there are ways to die where he ensures Thanos’ destruction. It’s not just one, as Stephen says…

But he finally realizes that Stephen had given him the kindest way to die: the only one where he gets to say goodbye.


	2. Drunken Nights, Sober Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate history in which Tony Stark deals with alcoholism, and one day finds a psychic connection with a stranger who is going through the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From descaladumidera.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188376309104/for-the-title-thingy-drunken-nights-sober).

Oh, this one has my heart. I don’t remember if I’ve ever said on this blog, but I find Tony’s struggle with alcoholism in the comics very powerful.

And it’s never said outright anywhere, I think, but Stephen MIGHT have been a substance abuser after his accident. It’s certainly believable, given how deep in despair he was back then.

So for this title, I’d write something for these two assholes. Something about them helping each other through recovery.

Off the top of my head, I’m thinking: one night, Tony is so tired he forgets to drink, and wakes up with miraculously NO hangover, and a man’s voice in his head. He panics at first, but it doesn’t last long: the man keeps saying “I need a drink” and vanishes from his mind.

Tony gets snatches of this man’s voice saying chaotic things in his head, until he realizes: he only hears the man’s voice while sober. And conversing with the man in his head makes him feel less lonely. So he tries sobering up in the daytime, at least, so he can make their conversations a regular thing.

It takes a while, but their convos become more and more frequent. It’s like having a permanent chatmate you can gripe to when things get frustrating. By having the man with him, Tony’s mornings become more bearable.

After a month or so, Tony and the man figure out: they’re both alcoholics, and they only hear each other in their heads when they’re sober. They promise to meet up for coffee when they’ve both done 100 days without drinking, not even at night.

But the man fails, big-time. He is about to embark on an important journey and feels the need to drink to kill the nerves. Nothing Tony says helps. And his last message to Tony is “I’m sorry.”

They fail to meet on what was supposed to be their 100th sober day. Tony’s head goes silent and he presumes the man has drunk himself to death. Pretends the man never existed at all, and it was his subconscious helping him get sober.

However, they meet again some years later. Tony still drinks alcohol, but the impulse is definitely more manageable. And when the man steps through a magical portal, calls him by name and says “I’m Doctor Stephen Strange,” Tony falls still.

He knows that voice.


	3. One Love, Two Minds And Three Little Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are three words that Tony and Stephen thought they would never, ever say to another person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For ask-shy-sabo.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188420087454/made-up-fic-tittle-one-love-two-minds-and-three).

They’ve fought, they’ve fucked, they’ve done everything. Except say those three little words.

The last time Tony remembered saying them was when he was seven and about to be shipped off to boarding school; his mother had _asked_ him to say them to her.

He meant it at the time, too. Thus, those words were sacred. They were a promise, a binding thing.

The last time Stephen remembered saying them to anyone was…never. He just was never the demonstrative kind. Although he’d heard them said many times by his patients, and by his sister Donna - who said them to _everyone, _and therefore kind of didn’t count - he never really took hearing them to heart.

After all, it was never said to him by someone whose feelings he returned.

They both thought about saying it to each other, multiple times, but they were held back by the same fear:

_If I say it, it’s over._

_If HE says it, it’s over._

So when it finally happens - when fate draws it out of them - in the battlefield, in a situation they would both call “life or death,” they’re both so stunned they forget to breathe for a second.

“I trust you,” Tony says.

And to their surprise, the world does not end.


	4. It’s too late to stop pretending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretending not to have feelings for Tony takes its toll on Stephen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For desya8899.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188424885584/i-love-your-work-are-you-still-doing-the-title).

Stephen develops feelings for Tony while going through the millions of timelines, looking for the one where they could defeat Thanos.

He comes back to the present and physically has to restrain himself from trapping Tony in a tight hug. He has to. Tony has no idea what he had just gone through. A sudden expression of affection from a virtual stranger would weird him out.

But Stephen is an emotional wreck during the next few hours between this point, and when he gets dusted. As soon as Bruce reverses the snap, Stephen thinks about Tony, and pushes all thoughts of Tony constantly to the back of his mind in order to get things done.

As Tony lies dying, Stephen foolishly thinks it should be a relief; finally, he’s seen the end that was meant to happen. With Tony gone, he can stop pretending his feelings for Tony don’t exist.

But that’s not what happens. Instead, he sees Tony and all the feelings pour out. The other Avengers wonder why the dignified sorcerer who had helped bring them together for the final battle, the powerful wizard who had seen all this before, fell to one knee in front of Tony’s crumbling body. Then on both knees. Then collapse to the ground near the dying man in a broken, sobbing mess.

What makes it worse is that Tony reaches out to touch the man’s face, with the last of his strength. And smile. As if he knows.

It’s only at this moment that Stephen understands that he never had to pretend, after all.


	5. Sorcerer’s progeny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen fails to use magical protection while having sex once, just ONCE, and a baby is the result.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From desya8899.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188434064189/another-one-for-the-title-thing-sorcerer-supreme).

My premise for the fic I’d write for this is that if you’re a sorcerer who can’t help but use magic even during intimate moments, you need protection - otherwise all sorts of unintended side effects could occur. One of them being an actual baby.

One day Stephen shows up to meet the Avengers with a newborn boy on his back, secured by a sturdy sling. He evades all questions about the baby, simply saying he’s on nanny duty.

But more astute people (Nat? Clint? Peter? MJ?) notice that the baby’s eyes are the same lovely blue-green-gray shade as Stephen’s. Stephen brings the baby to other meetings, and that’s when people start to realize he’s growing faster than the usual baby - and that he has black hair, much like Stephen.

They corner him until he admits: the baby is his. It was unintended. Stephen had sex without magical protection ONCE, and, well - these things have been known to happen.

Asked about the baby’s mother, Stephen says magic babies don’t need a mother-father pair to be born. It just has to be _at least _two people.

So the nosier Avengers get on the case of who the baby’s other parent/s might be. They observe the baby and note little hints, like - he charges ahead without thinking, much like Steve. He has a hearty laugh, much like Thor. He goes from zen to berserk in 0 seconds, much like Bruce. He loves to babble and show off, much like Tony. The guessing gets so tough, people speculate that a threesome or even foursome happened.

…and because I love Ironstrange, the baby’s other parent is of course Tony 😺 he just hides it by discreetly spending his nights at the Sanctum with Stephen and their fast-growing bundle of joy.

But if I’m feeling playful, I may end this fic with no one, not even Stephen, admitting who the baby’s other parent/s is/are. And there may be an mpreg side story! Who knows! 😸


	6. Sometimes darkness can show you the light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly gen fic. The Ancient One takes Stephen's astral self back to the moment of his accident, and reveals to him that he actually made a deal that he can't remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From aelaer.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188467731234/for-the-title-thing-i-love-titles-from-lyrics).

So I’m thinking, in this fic, the Ancient One guides Stephen to understanding the nature of his powers, by putting him through trials that test his ego and strengths.

There’s a fairly major twist I’m considering: Stephen should have died in his car accident. But the Ancient One brings his astral self back to the incident, and shows him that his latent magic actually drew his soul out of his body at that time, and allowed him to make a deal with Death.

Stephen watches as Death tells his younger self that he needs to sacrifice something important to him, in order to prolong his life. A similar deal was made when he was younger, when he and his little sister Donna were swimming. He should have died, then, too. But he made a bargain. Therefore, Donna died in his place.

He does not remember this bargain he made when he was younger, and Death assures him he will not remember this _new _bargain when he wakes up.

Death shows him Christine, asks if he would be willing to sacrifice her this time.

Stephen immediately says no.

He is the one who proposes: “take my hands.”

It is a magical bargain. One that no magic can annul.

Death agrees.

Stephen recovers from his accident and promptly plunges into despair, blames everyone else for the misfortune that befell his hands, including Christine (she should have agreed to go with him, should not have let him drive alone to the neurological society event)…not remembering that he was the one who made the deal to give them up.

Finally understanding this is a huge blow to Stephen. Shows him exactly how selfish and selfless he was, at the same time, though in different planes of reality. He realizes he prefers the side of him that said “take my hands,” instead of sacrifice another life.

But he realizes, also, that the same side once gave up his sister Donna. He needs to train himself to be wiser, because - who knows what kind of deal he’ll make next time?

(I get around to thinking: do I include that Tony was the deal he made with Death? At the Endgame, does he in fact exchange Tony’s life for everyone else’s? TAO could tell Stephen this is possible, even if she cannot look past her own death and see that he actually _does it_.)

TAO hints that she has made many such similar deals with Death, before a way around it became available to her. Stephen asks about the “way around”, but is only told it is the Sorcerer Supreme’s prerogative. He doesn’t realize at the time that it’s Dormammu: he has yet to find the pages that Kaecillius stole.

And, whether or not it’s written into the fic, we can infer: Stephen was the last deal that Death made with the Ancient One. She refuses to give him up, and refuses to draw from Dormammu’s power any more, lest she give him leverage to win. She knows her time is up.

She makes no deal with Death. So she must die. But before she does, she lingers long enough to deliver Stephen’s final lesson: “It’s not about you.”


	7. Skeletons in Closets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sins from Stephen and Tony's pasts catch up with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From ellisper.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188486811904/for-the-fic-title-ask-thingy-i-have-2-skeletons).

This fic is probably going to be intense. Both MCU Tony and Stephen have histories of bad behavior prior to their life-changing injuries.

I’m still thinking of the most sensitive way to approach this…but I’m thinking of Tony dealing with “MeToo” allegations, funded by industry competitors who want to destroy the public’s faith in the Stark name. Tony wasn’t exactly sober through all those dark years, so he can’t recall the details, but admits in private to his lawyers - and to Stephen - that he MIGHT have done some of the things described.

On the other hand, Stephen faces the ire of loved ones of patients he’d refused to see…some of whom had died or become permanently disabled, because they couldn’t pay him the amount he had demanded.

They are both better people now, and refuse to turn away from the sins of their past. But getting a better sense of what kind of people they both used to be causes a strain on their relationship.

Maybe Stephen offers to take Tony through his own past and see if he really did the things he’s being accused of doing. Also, offers to show him his past as a surgeon and how he really did refuse patients treatment. Maybe Tony accepts, maybe he doesn’t.

Either way, they must get through the firestorm, the doubt and their self-hatred, and take strength from each other, before they’re torn apart.

(Also considering: the other Avengers defending both Tony and Stephen from their accusers, assuring them both that they’re better people who deserve to be happy. Because they are, goddammit!

(Steve Rogers is Tony's staunchest ally, even if he has his own opinions on the allegations. He knows Tony is a good person and will never leave him out to dry.)


	8. Fifteen Minutes Late with Starbucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen tells Tony he'll be late for their date. Tony happily agrees, not knowing exactly what "late" means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From ellisper.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188486811904/for-the-fic-title-ask-thingy-i-have-2-skeletons).

Stephen tells Tony he has an important mission and he’ll be late for an important date, when Tony is about to propose. Tony nonchalantly says “okay.” What’s the big deal, right? He’s been “a little late,” himself, a few (hundred) times.

But Stephen fails to show up at all that night. And fails to contact Tony the next day, and the many days after.

Fed up with waiting, Tony asks Wong what happened. Wong says Stephen was on his mission, but was “unexpectedly delayed”. He assures Tony that if Stephen says he’ll be there, he’ll find some way to be there. He’ll just be late.

“Better be ‘cause he got Starbucks,” Tony mutters. Wong asks him to repeat that. “Nothing,” he says.

So Tony comes back to the restaurant on the same date every year, ring in his pocket. He waits THREE YEARS.

In the third year, as the restaurant is closing up on him, and Tony has made up his mind to stop waiting - Stephen shows up, impeccably dressed: formal tux and everything. Tony is so very angry with him, but tries to act cool. Stephen apologizes profusely, says “I’ve got something for you.”

Turns out it’s an engagement ring. And a promise to Tony that he’ll never be late for anything again.

Tony starts to cry, from three years of pent-up love and disappointment. Stephen asks him why he’s crying. “Nothing,” Tony answers, still sobbing as he brings out his own ring from his pocket. “This has just been one hell of a fifteen-minute delay, and you’ve brought me one hell of a drink.”


	9. Stranger Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen goes on astral trips quite often, discreetly leaving his body in the care of other Stephens, from other dimensions. Tony is the only one who figures out that this happens, and keeps Stephen's secret safe.
> 
> But one day, a more malicious Stephen makes his entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From ellisper.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188514126164/oh-and-i-guess-also-stranger-danger-but-thats).

Okay so Stephen is not a Sorcerer Supreme yet in this fic. He’s a Master of the Mystic Arts still discovering the limits of his power, and also a Sanctum Master.

He realizes that being a Sanctum Master is a big job. He often needs to leave his physical body to attend astral meetings of other earthbound Masters, or go on diplomatic missions to meet with Masters from other dimensions.

Fearing that he’ll need to be away for longer than his physical body allows, he pulls versions of himself from other timelines to take over his body - making sure that all of his other versions understand that the arrangement is only TEMPORARY: a [_Quantum Leap_](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FQuantum_Leap&t=NWE2MzZjMjczM2Y2MzBiYThmZmM1YjM5NzRlYjAwMGYyYjA5OGFlZiw1Z0FwcGwxaA%3D%3D&b=t%3AlxWZGR4fzEP26kzSFo2KzA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fbabywarg.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188514126164%2Foh-and-i-guess-also-stranger-danger-but-thats&m=1)-style babysitting deal.

Not all of his versions are happy with being strong-armed into the task…but all eventually understand that at Stephen’s current level of magical proficiency, it must be done. Better that, than leave his physical form wide open to invasions of every kind…

That’s actually why Doctor Strange often appears weird to others: sometimes it feels like he’s a roughneck trying hard to be a sophisticate. Sometimes it feels like he’s a spoiled royal trying not to talk down to people he obviously believes are inferior to himself. The variations are countless, because the versions of Stephen are countless.

But no one really gives it much mind…except for Tony. Who has paid so much attention to Stephen in all the time they’ve known each other, that he can instinctively tell which Stephen is “his” Stephen, and which came from another dimension.

He acts as a safe space for each newly-arrived Stephen, discreetly assuring them that their secret is safe with him, and guiding them on how to behave like “his” Stephen, so they aren’t too noticeably quirky.

Thus, each Stephen goes back to his own dimension with fond memories of this Tony. Some even say “I hope you get your heart’s desire” - while being fully aware of what that is.

But one day, a rogue Stephen steps unbidden into this body: an ambitious, cunning villain - Evil!Stephen. His disguise is so very good, that almost no one sees through it.*

Evil!Stephen has a plan to take over this reality. He starts to imprison all the other Avengers one by one - leaving Tony for last, because a few interactions were enough to clue him in on how this Tony is smitten with “his” Stephen, and would be absolutely devastated to see the object of his affection destroying the world.

* Of course Tony sees through it. Maybe it was a clue when he came on to Tony, knowing instinctively how attracted Tony is to “his” Stephen 😆

While Evil!Stephen is leaving him for last, Tony is already priming a magic-resistant armor that could take Evil!Stephen down. He conceptualized the armor as soon as he learned that Stephen left his body frequently; he knew at such an early stage that “Stranger Danger” - a dark entity taking over Stephen’s body and powers - was a real risk.

Tony defeats Evil!Stephen, sends him screaming back into his own dimension, with a final spiel about how Evil!Stephen is not even a fraction of the man “his” Stephen is.

A long-adrift Stephen re-enters his body and engulfs Tony in a warm embrace. He’s seen everything. He and this reality owe Tony a lot. And fully plans to honor his debt as soon as time allows (wink wink).

(Considering: Loki being a major ally for Tony here, in tricking Evil!Stephen into being propelled back to his home dimension. Tony needs help on how to make magic work for his tech, and Loki could prove a handy and crafty guide.)


	10. Log entry 156A-499b: Cosmos wild, shoot me in the heart I'm down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star Trek AU: Tony is a blithely reckless Chief Engineer. Stephen is the Chief Medical Officer who keeps finding him in sickbay. Tony records their encounters in his official ship log.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From hogwartstoalexandria.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188531537719/fic-title-ask-meme-1-log-entry-156a-499b-2).

In my pet ST AU, Tony is the Chief Engineer. Steve is the Captain. Stephen is the Chief Medical Officer. Everyone else still needs their assignments, but let’s work with just these guys first.

My HC is that all section chiefs’ logs are submitted to Personnel for permanent archiving and periodic system-wide evaluation. Tony knows this and purposefully includes personal information to make his entries stand out. For example:

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx:
> 
> Exothermal units refitted with Kingston-Kim rigs to enhance performance when moving through G7 space. Also, Ensign Carter’s pet grint hound had a litter today! I was offered a pup, but the entire litter’s colors clash with my red shirt, so no.

Tony frequently submits logs that have _exclusively_ personal information, which leads Personnel (Maria Hill, in my mind) to periodically remind him not to do that.

He does it anyway.

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx:
> 
> Capsicle pissed me off again today. Wish I could punch him in his perfect teeth.

Yeah, Tony and the uptight Captain Rogers don’t always see eye to eye. One of the things Captain Rogers absolutely _hates_ is how Tony tends to insinuate himself into away teams and attend to exceptionally dangerous repair jobs himself.

This means he gets injured often. And gets sent to sickbay a lot. Where he gets to whine and wheedle until the Chief Medical Officer himself comes to check on him.

He initially refers to the CMO in his logs as “Doc Sex.”

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx:
> 
> Doc Sex wanted to know if he should write me up for psych, because I get myself into risky situations unnecessarily. I said I just put myself in harm’s way so I’ll have an excuse to see him on a regular basis.
> 
> Doc Sex said that definitely means he should write me up for psych.
> 
> He didn’t. And I’m pretty sure he winked at me at one point.

Some entries later, Tony stops calling him Doc Sex and just refers to him as DS. 

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx
> 
> Today DS called me his favorite redshirt. He’s flirting with me, right??

As time draws on, Tony’s entries about DS become more and more vague, less wisecracky. And actually romantic.

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx:
> 
> Cosmos = another name for space
> 
> Cosmos = the name of a wild Earthside flower with striking colors
> 
> Cosmos = my name for the striking color of DS’ eyes

There are also entries about him and DS fighting, which is remarkable because there are only two people who get under Tony’s skin like that: the Captain, and DS.

And he never speaks of wanting to punch DS.

> Log entry xx-xx-xxxx:
> 
> DS called me a “douchebag” today. Unironically. Must admit, that stung.
> 
> He’s also threatened to stop treating me personally, because I seem to like getting hurt, and he doesn’t like seeing me get hurt.
> 
> Not the first time anyone’s called me out on my recklessness.
> 
> First time it’s ever mattered.

Lots of things happen, and the whole crew pitch in on helping DS and Tony get together. Tony resists, because he likes flirting with people but not getting romantically involved with them; lots of baggage on his end.

But Tony starts seeing it as a fight he’s destined to lose, because the more DS opens up to him, the more he falls for the guy.

Until finally…

> Log entry 156A-499b:
> 
> DS kissed me today.
> 
> Man down.
> 
> Man down.

The end. And the _next _fic in the series explores DS’ log entries 😸


	11. The Sorcerer and the Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A remix of MCU Tony Stark's history, loosely based on T.H. White's _The Once and Future King_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For tonystark-stephenstrange.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188592179674/for-the-title-this-the-sorcerer-and-the-crown).

The fic I would write is going to be a [Once and Future King](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fculture%2F2017%2F5%2F18%2F15649214%2Fonce-and-future-king-th-white-king-arthur&t=ZmVjOGYyNTZkMDk2YTAwZTFhY2FjZmQ5NDE0YjViMDE2NWM3NTg3OCxCMFBQUlVCSg%3D%3D&b=t%3AlxWZGR4fzEP26kzSFo2KzA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fbabywarg.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188592179674%2Ffor-the-title-this-the-sorcerer-and-the-crown&m=1)-type alternative timeline. It starts with an aged Stephen, now Sorcerer Supreme, making a deal with interdimensional powers.

Said powers have decided that this reality has been well and thoroughly screwed over by humans. Therefore, they declare, humans must be eradicated by their indestructible agent, Thanos, so that this reality can start over.

Stephen argues that humans are good by nature and deserve to live longer. Thus, the interdimensional powers allow him to choose a champion for the Earth, upon whom he will bestow a metaphysical “crown”, and who will go up against Thanos in a final battle to decide the fate of this reality.

The powers are betting that any champion whom Stephen selects would fall into despair, considering how shitty humans have become. This champion wouldn’t even face Thanos in the final battle - and worse, may even side with him for personal gain.

But Stephen places all his bets on his champion, on the thought that his champion will choose hope and save the world.

Stephen spends some time looking into Earth’s past for a possible champion. Then, like Merlin, he goes backwards in time, to find one Anthony Edward Stark.

The first time they meet is when Tony is a child and Stephen is very old. Little Tony thinks the ancient guy with the cool red coat is weird - why would he go out of his way to take an abused little rich kid around and show him how good other people are? - but somehow, the old guy’s lessons find their way into his heart.

Then, as a less old person, Stephen meets Tony in a party in the year 2000, where he calls himself Yinsen: a talented scientist whose family died in a war (the real Yinsen had in fact died with his family. Stephen stole his identity in order to insert himself into Tony’s life).

He meets Tony again in the same form, when he is being held by terrorist kidnappers inside a cave. Stephen sacrifices his “Yinsen” disguise in a show of dying, so that Tony will be driven to escape.

Some years later, he meets Tony again as a much younger man - a doctor around Tony’s age. Tony doesn’t recognize him as the old man from his childhood OR as Yinsen, but thinks he is very, very familiar.

They spend a lot of time together, with Stephen subtly teaching Tony that the majority of people are good, and that privileged people like him need to protect them (even says vague things like “heavy is the head that wears the crown”).

In the process of being subtly and secretly mentored, Tony finds himself falling for Stephen. This is unexpected, Stephen notes…but then he finds himself falling for Tony, too.

…which is bad, because if he fails, Tony will end up losing to Thanos, and dying. The best case scenario is Tony sacrificing himself in order to win against Thanos - and dying, all the same.

The powers that be are amused. They tell Stephen, “You found someone to whom your own soul called out. And then you saved him from death, only so he could die.”

Stephen shakes his head. “No,” he answers. “I saved him from death so he can live forever.”

As it turns out, Tony’s way to defeat Thanos is to build a device (an Infinity Crown) that will encase both him and Thanos in a stasis field for eternity. Thanos can’t die, he’s learned, but he can be trapped - even if Tony has to be trapped with him.

This means neither Tony nor Thanos ever really dies. Stephen doesn’t just win by placing his faith in Tony - he gets one up on the interdimensional beings that had wanted all humans dead, by taking their reaper out of commission.

…and because I can’t resist a good [Merlin parallel](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F18287648&t=MGU5NmMyNTJkMDNkMmE2Y2UzNjhhYjVmOWRlZTJlNDRhNTg0YmEzMyxCMFBQUlVCSg%3D%3D&b=t%3AlxWZGR4fzEP26kzSFo2KzA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fbabywarg.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F188592179674%2Ffor-the-title-this-the-sorcerer-and-the-crown&m=1), Stephen puts himself in stasis along with Tony. After all, humanity has been saved: the interdimensional powers will never bother them again, and a Sorcerer Supreme isn’t necessary for a good while. (Maybe he trains a successor: it could be part of his backwards-living plan.)

Tony will always be the one wearing the crown that saved humanity. If and when Tony is revived to save reality again, his lover would be right there alongside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, if you like this and are in the mood for other fantasy AUs, I’d like to direct you to two that I’ve previously written: [The Prince and the Clocksmith](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071118), and [Saying Your Names](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18315923) (drpepperony, but with Tony as a monarch and Stephen as a wizard, too).


	12. The Flow of the Currents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen falls for Tony and gets confused over timelines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From tonystark-stephenstrange.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188592179674/for-the-title-this-the-sorcerer-and-the-crown).

Sanctum Master Stephen takes it upon himself to test a new spell he learned, one which allows him to look at how time flows out in many different directions.

In the process of peering into alternative timelines, he inadvertently falls in love with Tony Stark.

Stephen used to be able to easily organize which memories belong to which timelines…but since accidentally developing feelings for Tony, it’s become significantly harder for him to process things.

For one thing, he wrestles with memories of things that never happened, or things that will never happen. He repeats to himself, over and over, that Tony is going to die to save the universe in this reality, and that Tony is never going to return his feelings. At the same time, having to remind himself of this constantly leaves him feeling sad and helpless.

At one point he becomes so unbalanced that he can’t eat or sleep. Tony visits him at the Sanctum out of concern. He finally learns the truth: that Stephen has feelings for him, but Tony is bound to meet a terrible fate (Stephen won’t say which) and Stephen is beaten up by the fact that he can’t do anything about it.

As Tony processes all of this, he goes home and builds a machine that could quite possibly help him ride the currents of time, and see what Stephen saw.

The machine works, and two things happen to Tony:

1\. He falls for Stephen, as well, seeing as it’s _crazy_ how many alternative futures they spend together and in love; and

2\. He learns that Stephen has been looking at the WRONG TIMELINE.

That is, in Stephen’s confused state, he’s been thinking all along that THIS is the one where Tony dies to kill an interstellar conqueror and save the universe.

Tony knows what to do now. He goes back to the Sanctum, to the depressed-to-the-point-of-catatonia Stephen, brings him back to his senses with a kiss, and sets his dumb ass straight:

“The universe doesn’t even come close to ending in this one. So this isn’t the one where you lose me, you moron. This is the one where we live happily ever after.”


	13. The Star to Guide Me Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen lives a series of pleasant lives. But no matter how happy he is, he chooses to break free from each one - by dropping everything and reaching for a strange, bright blue star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From murphythetoaster.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188632611864/fic-title-ask-the-star-to-guide-me-home).

Something very specific occurred to me after reading this: Stephen in some sort of mental prison, unable to even be aware that he’s trapped.

We’ve all read about Stephen getting trapped in nightmares, right? But this is different. Stephen actually gets caught in a series of _happy_ realities.

In one, he’s a rich, famous surgeon with a lot of friends and a rocking lovelife. In one more, he’s a stay-at-home American 1950s father with a successful spouse, and three sweet, precocious kids occupying all of his time. In another, he’s a gambler who never loses. Then a sheriff who actively keeps his wild west-type neighborhood safe. And then a professor leading a quiet life, inspiring promising young people, day by day.

He wins at every life. He doesn’t have to try too hard. Good things just come to him - and, like any one of us, he isn’t inclined to question why they do. He just sits back and enjoys them.

But in each reality, something always happens: he gets a vision of a bright blue shape. He can’t make out the shape per se, but it looks like a diamond.

It’s so bright, he thinks of it as a star.

He keeps reaching for it, even if doing so means leaving his pleasant life behind - and when he does, his reality abruptly changes, leaving him no memory of the previous one.

All throughout the fic, mysterious overlord-type creatures speak - wondering amongst themselves why Stephen won’t just stay in any one reality, no matter how good they fashion that reality to be.

The end goal of these creatures, apparently, is to trap the Earth’s most powerful sorcerer in a _good dream_ \- so he won’t ever want to get out. While he’s distracted, they’ll muscle into the Earth and take over his turf.

Unfortunately for them, Stephen has a lifeline - something that serves as an anchor to his reality every time he looks at it:

It’s Tony’s arc reactor/nanotech repository, shining bright like a star in the murk of his consciousness. And remembering Tony - who is absent in every illusion presented to him, because he’s such a precious memory that Stephen locks him out of the overlord-type creatures’ grasp - saves Stephen from being stuck in every web spun for him.

As the perplexed overlord-type creatures are debating over their plans for Stephen, Stephen finally holds the star in his hand. He recovers all his memories of this reality in a snap. And breaks free.

Stephen winds up back in the Sanctum. We find out: Stephen has lived countless happy scenarios in the blink of an eye. To us, it’s only been a few breaths…but Stephen has already mentally lived many lifetimes.

\- none of which was ever happy enough to make him stay, because Tony was in none of them.

We find this out because Tony is there in the Sanctum, saying Stephen has been quiet for the last few minutes, which is a whole new record for him. Is anything up?

Stephen quietly says, no. Nothing’s up. Can I have a hug?

Of course, Tony says, offers up a tight hug without hesitation.

What happened, Tony tries to ask. Nothing, Stephen tries to answer, my lodestar, my way home. Nothing at all.


	14. [Partly in Tagalog] Wika at Pang-Unawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen barely survives an assault by an interdimensional being. When he wakes up, he speaks in old Tagalog and doesn't remember much of anything. All he knows is that he has to go to the Philippines to carry out a mission. Tony insists on tagging along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not strictly for the fic title meme, so made up a title for this, but adding it into the series because I treated it like the fic title meme and just provided a summary. The title, by the way, translates to "Language and Understanding."
> 
> From aelaer.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188632745759/oh-i-love-foreign-languages-theyre-so-great-i).

In this one, Stephen barely survives a battle with otherworldly forces in another dimension. He returns to New York in a bombass display filled with blood and magical fireworks.

Peter, who happens to be out on patrol, is the first to get to him, and brings him to the nearest hospital. Thus Stephen is saved - barely. Tony and Peter keep watch all throughout the week he is in a coma.

Peter knows he’s staying because he wants to make sure Doctor Strange is okay…but why is Tony here? Thanks to the power of his “kulit,” Peter learns that Tony actually has feelings for Stephen.

No, Tony hasn’t confessed his feelings yet - but he will, as soon as Stephen comes to. That’s his promise to himself.

Soon after that, Stephen comes to…and weird shit goes down. He can’t understand a word that Tony is saying. Tony can’t understand a word he’s saying.

Fortunately, Peter recognizes a few familiar words. He’s spent a lot of time in his best friend Ned’s house…and Ned’s parents are from the Philippines. He immediately calls Ned for help to translate.

Unfortunately, Ned was born in the States* and doesn’t know too many Filipino words - and Stephen uses a lot of old Tagalog, which confounds him. So the help he can provide is limited.

But Ned knows enough to piece this together:

Stephen didn’t just wake up speaking another language - he woke up a completely different person. He doesn’t remember how to use magic, or do surgery - or much of anything. He barely remembers his name. He has no idea who he is, or _what_ he is.

He only remembers one thing: that he has to reach the summit of Mt. Banahaw, a holy mountain in the Philippines. He doesn’t even clearly recall _why_.

Stephen insists on getting there and then trekking all the way up to the top of the mountain alone. Wong offers to portal him over, but Stephen instinctively knows that any magic or flashy tech used will draw the attention of…whatever is waiting for him at the top. So he refuses any help.

On his part, Tony refuses to let Stephen go alone. He proves to Stephen that he has armor that can protect him from any dangers that may befall them. 

After the shock of seeing his armor in action as if it were the first time, Stephen reluctantly accepts.

He will accept only Tony as a companion. But that means they won’t have a translator with them during their journey; any sort of communication signal disappears as they go higher up the mountain.

Tony knows this, but doesn’t mind.

They spend a couple of days on the trail. Roughing it is new to Tony, but seems completely natural to Stephen. He knows the way. He even understands how to use the plants in the area for healing, like when Tony gets a few nasty scrapes from his hiking fail.

This leads Tony to think Stephen has, in fact, been possessed by a local medicine man. But the thing is - to him, this new Stephen _feels_ exactly like the old one. Which is weird, considering the very different modes of speech and behavior.

They don’t understand each other, so Tony babbles a lot, not expecting a conversation. Unbeknownst to them both, their topics actually tend to match up when they talk at the same time.

“Do you know that Sting wrote ‘Desert Rose’ with Cheb Mami even if he didn’t understand Algerian Arabic? And they ended up writing a kickass song about the same thing - about longing, I mean - even if they wrote in completely different ways. All the world loved the song because it’s beautiful, but I think the way they wrote it was weird. Wasn’t it weird?”

Stephen is silent for a moment, then says: “Siguro sa ibang bahagi ng mundo, sa mismong oras na ito, may dalawang taong gumagawa ng mga awit, bagamat hindi sila magkakilala. Bagamat magkaiba ang kanilang wika at hindi nila nauunawaan ang isa’t isa. Ang himig ang mahalaga. Magkasama sila at iyon ang mahalaga.” **

They grow even closer during that camping trip. And by the time Stephen gets to the top of the mountain, he understands enough of Tony’s feelings to realize that he is capable of returning them.

At the top of the mountain is a dark portal back to the dimension Stephen had barely escaped with his life. Before jumping into it, Stephen turns to Tony with a longass spiel about the unexplainable nature of love. Tony does not understand a single. Effing. Word. But he listens and the meaning behind the words reaches into his heart.

Stephen leans in for one last, long kiss. Then leaps into the portal.

The portal vanishes as soon as he steps in, so Tony cannot follow. Not knowing what to do after that kiss, Tony waits.

He doesn’t have to wait for long. Stephen bursts back through another portal, which closes as soon as he enters. Exhausted, he falls into Tony’s arms. And after he has recovered his breath, proves that he is now the _old_ Stephen.

And explains everything:

The interdimensional evil he was fighting some weeks past could really have killed him. It had already opened a portal over Mt. Banahaw to walk into this world through - it just needed to get rid of Stephen first, because he was standing in its way.

Stephen foiled its plans by surviving…as long as he’s alive, the path to the Mt. Banahaw portal would remain obscured to it. So all Stephen needed to actually do was sneak back through the Mt. Banahaw portal, finish off the evil, and come back to this reality.

But he has absolutely no explanation for why he woke from his coma with a completely different personality, and how he came back with his old personality intact. Maybe the positioning of the portal over Mt. Banahaw had something to do with it. Or maybe it was a completely random thing.

Fortunately, though, he seems to have retained some understanding of Filipino + old Tagalog. Tony thinks it’s a good time to reveal that he was actually recording their conversations during their trek. He was hoping he could get Ned to translate them when they come back, but he figured he could just let Stephen himself translate, in case anything in there was going to traumatize a teenage kid.

Stephen says he is only too happy to act as Tony’s translator. In private 😉

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Ned’s MCU actor, Jacob Batalon, was born in Hawaii to Filipino parents. I just adapted that to Ned’s backstory here.
> 
> ** “Maybe in another part of the world, at this very moment, there are two people making songs, even if they don’t know each other. Even if their languages are different and they don’t understand each other. The melody is what’s important. They’re together and that’s what’s important.”


	15. My Broken Soul Once More Enslaved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate universe where Thanos wins the war on Earth, more than half of all the universe is snapped away, and the Earth is turned into a barren wasteland. Stephen is captured and brainwashed by Thanos' troops, made to hunt down stray humans who rebel against them.
> 
> One such human is Tony Stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From amethyst-noir.
> 
> Original is [here](https://babywarg.tumblr.com/post/188656026399/i-have-no-idea-if-you-still-do-those-but-since-you).

This one is set in a post-Thanos universe, where Tony failed to steal the Infinity Stones.

Thanos got to snap the Infinity Gauntlet a second time _after_ Bruce’s snap, the one that restored all the dusted. And this time, Thanos was more specific about what he wanted:

More than half of the universe disappeared. The Earth was condemned to a wasteland, its resources transferred to more “worthy” worlds.

Stephen survives, but he has been shattered. He had placed all his bets on Tony being able to defeat Thanos. But Stephen’s gamble was off by a few microscopic factors, and he failed.

Dispirited and unable to summon all but the most basic magics, he is captured and brainwashed by Thanos’ general on Earth - at the moment I think of this as Ebony Maw restored from 2014.

Post-Thanos Earth, I imagine, is mostly desert, with Ebony Maw and his gang hoarding all the natural materials and tech available. Having a magic user like Stephen as an executioner/enforcer quelling all stray rebellions is a huge plus for them.

But unbeknownst to everyone, Tony Stark has been recruiting the few enhanced humans left alive on Earth’s surface - including Peter, Rhodey and Clint - in order to make a rebel group.

Tony lost his wife and child in Thanos’ second snap. Everyone else is dealing with their own losses. But Tony’s gang has one specific purpose: to lure Thanos back to Earth, steal the Stones, and snap everyone back to life.

In short - to do it right, this time.

They’ve decided that they can’t do it until they get to Ebony Maw. And they can’t get to Ebony Maw without first taking out his executioner.

But instead of killing Stephen Strange after capture, as Clint and Rhodey suggest, Tony chooses to imprison Stephen and turn him to their side.

To everyone’s surprise, Stephen forms an almost immediate bond with Tony. Nobody but Tony (and maybe Peter, in a way) trusts Stephen completely, and even Rhodey thinks it’s insane - has Tony forgotten how Stephen hunted down other enhanced beings in Thanos’ employ? And even before that, how he gave up the Time Stone to Thanos and doomed the entire universe?

Tony says he can’t explain it, either, but he trusts Stephen. And he reminds Rhodey: Tony made the alternative Gauntlet that could stop Thanos, but failed to do that, too. So he’s not one to judge about dooming the entire universe.

The more Tony interacts with Stephen, the more he realizes how deep Ebony Maw’s conditioning had gone; Stephen was well and truly broken. Getting Stephen to like the human race again, and not think of them as maggots crawling on the earth is an enormous task…but one Tony is willing to personally undertake.

He and Stephen share a certain kind of guilt over not stopping Thanos, and Stephen resonates strongly with this. Tony makes it a point to remind him as often as possible that it’s _not his fault_ that Thanos won, that Thanos would have won anyway.

Stephen finds Tony’s presence reassuring…and inadvertenly becomes dependent on it. From his sanity relying on Ebony Maw, he realizes that it’s now become dependent on Tony.

But his mind is a mess, and he asks himself: is Tony a false king, too? Was his resistance against Thanos a matter of ego? Had he made a mistake in the first place, trusting Tony with saving the universe? Is their plan doomed to fail?

If Tony asks him to do anything, can he say no?

Ultimately, Tony and Stephen’s shared hangups bind the two of them tightly together. This can be platonic or romantic, depending on the reader’s preference.

Either way, by the end of the story, there’s nothing Stephen wouldn’t do for Tony. _Nothing._

They end up working together to defeat Ebony Maw, and lure Thanos into Earth. Earth’s final defenders - with their decimated crew, and their sheer wit and grit - focus all their energies on stealing the Infinity Stones, and setting things right.

The fic’s last scene? A possibly mortally wounded Stephen wearing and holding aloft the alternative Infinity Gauntlet, between Thanos and a _definitely_ mortally wounded Tony.

He has a split second to make a decision. What that decision is, is also up to the reader 😺


End file.
